The present invention relates to a rubber composition and a tire having a tread and/or a sidewall prepared using the rubber composition.
So far, reduction of rolling resistance of tires (i.e., enhancement of rolling resistance property) has contributed to low fuel consumption of vehicles. In recent years, in response to the increasing demands for low fuel consumption of vehicles, rubber compositions for forming a tread and/or a sidewall occupying a large portion of a tire among tire members are required to possess a notably low heat build-up property.
For enhancement of a low heat build-up property of a rubber composition, a method of reducing the content of reinforcing fillers is known. However, in this case, hardness of the rubber composition is lowered and thus a tire produced using the rubber composition becomes soft, which causes a problem that handling performance (steering stability) and wet skid performance of vehicles, and abrasion resistance are deteriorated.
JP2003-192842A discloses a rubber composition for a tire containing both of anhydrous silica and hydrous silica to improve wet skid performance. The rubber composition, however, still has a problem that rolling resistance property is not improved sufficiently.
An object of the present invention is to provide a rubber composition capable of reducing rolling resistance, and enhancing abrasion resistance, wet skid performance, and steering stability. Another object of the present invention is to provide a tire having a tread and/or a sidewall prepared using the rubber composition.